8/13/2019 On Becoming Things an Interview With Axel Honneth

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On becoming things: An interview with Axel Honneth

September 1st, 2013 Relate !ile "ner

#ensen S$ther

%lat&p$s Review '( ) September 2013

On #$l& 3r, 2013, at the *oethe "niversit+t in !ran-$rt, *erman&, #ensen S$ther

interviewe Axel Honneth, irector o- the !ran-$rt .nstit$te -or Social Research an a$thor

o- n$mero$s boos an articles, on behal- o- %lat&p$s/ heir conversation -oc$se on the

problem o- rei-ication, or the tenenc& -or processes o- trans-ormation to appear as, an be

treate as i- the& were, static obects o- an imm$table nat$re/ Rei-ication was the theme o-

several writings Honneth elivere as the anner 4ect$res at 5erele& in 200'/ hese lect$res

are compile in the boo Rei-ication: A 6ew 4oo at an Ol .ea 76ew 8or: Ox-or

"niversit& %ress "SA, 20129/ hat -ollows is an eite transcript o- their isc$ssion/

*eorg 4$;cs in 1(13

#ensen S$ther: .n &o$r 200' anner 4ect$re series, &o$ arg$e that *eorg 4$;csing that, pace 4$;cs, -or whom rei-ication is generate b& the commoit& -orm,i--erent sets o- social practices give rise to rei-&ing behavior an no one gro$p, class, or

social movement can be sing$larl& assigne the tas o- abolishing rei-ie social relations/

However, rei-ication has historicall& been an important concept -or the 4e-t/ ?o &o$ see the

criti@$e o- rei-ication as necessaril& le-tist How, i- at all, oes &o$r contrib$tion to the

isco$rse on rei-ication relate to the 4e-t

Axel Honneth: his is a s$rprising @$estion, one . wo$l not have tho$ght to as, so m&

answer comes ver& m$ch a hoc/ . o not believe that concepts belong to an& speci-ic

political comm$nit& or gro$p/ he egree to which concepts help $s explore something or see

something new, the& sho$l be taen as an instr$ment potentiall& available -or ever&one in

societ&/ So, in that sense, . o not believe that rei-ication is an a$tomaticall& le-tist concept/

=oreover, in terms o- the histor& o- ieas, . am not even s$re that rei-ication is necessaril& a

concept evelope onl& b& le-tists/ !or instance, the !rench =arxist thiner 4$cien

*olmann so$ght to emonstrate the similarities between the approaches o- 4$;cs an

Heiegger/ 8o$ can -in in Heiegger an iea o- rei-ication, which alrea& inicates that

rei-ication was a concept also $tili>e b& the right, or on the right/ here are man& problems

with 4$;cse, namel& b& wa& o- a ver& pec$liar set o- bacgro$n ieas, let

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social str$ct$re o- realit&/ 4$;cs relies on a in o- !ichteanCHegelian metaph&sical concept

b& which all h$man societ& is tho$ght to be gro$ne in a certain in o- worlCconstit$ting

activit&, an so 4$;cs thins that the onl& class that can overcome rei-ication, which is seen

as the estr$ction o- that worlCconstit$ting activit&, is the class which is representingDeven

$ner alienate or istorte conitionsDthat in o- praxis/ here-ore, we have this almost

-antastic piece within the whole st$&, wherein 4$;cs wants to reveal this one moment o-

the overcoming o- these istorte conitions/ !or 4$;cs, this moment loos almost lie this

one revol$tionar& actE . mean, &o$ almost get the sense that in one secon all these estr$ctive

conitions are overcome/ .t

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it/ How oes this imension o- rei-ication -ig$re into &o$r acco$nt Or, to p$t the @$estion a

i--erent wa&, what are the limitations to the immanent anal&sis o- rei-ication

AH: . o not see that, .ations/ .- &o$ tae

rei-ication literall&, which . thin 4$;cs wants to o, then &o$ cannot reall& sa& that all

economic exchange, even exchange irectl& involving the labor -orce, is rei-ication as s$ch/

6ot all practices involve in the pro$ction process necessaril& re@$ire that the h$man

potentialities o- the worers m$st be exacte -rom them/ Fapitalist pro$ction as s$ch entails

the $se, as a commoit&, o- the h$man potentialities o- the labor -orce, b$t onl& in somespeci-ic cases oes this -orm o- pro$ction also exhibit the oppositeDnamel&, an ignorance

o-, or isregar -or, h$man potential/ Onl& in these partic$lar cases oes it mae sense to

spea o- rei-ication/ .n the sex trae, -or example, we have a clear case o- rei-ication/ 5$t

rei-ication oes not obtain in all -orms o- capitalist pro$ction/

#S: .n an essa& &o$ wrote that concl$es the Fambrige Fompanion to Fritical heor&,

entitle A social patholog& o- reason: on the intellect$al legac& o- Fritical heor&, &o$

arg$e that the process o- social rationali>ation, or what Hegel wo$l have calle the historical

$n-oling o- -reeom, has been interr$pte, an that it is the tas o- Fritical heor& to thin

thro$gh the contraiction between capitalism an the aspirations o- bo$rgeois societ&/ 8o$

claim that this interr$ption poses a moral or ethical challenge, whose resol$tion oes notnecessaril& re@$ire the s$blation o- capitalism, an that histor& has emonstrate that the

=arxist wing o- le-t Hegelianism was wrong, since the woring class i not

a$tomaticall& evelop a revol$tionar& reainess/ 8o$ arg$e that, in light o- the -ail$re o-

=arxism, ps&choanal&sis ma& o--er power-$l tools -or anal&>ing social irrationalit&/ .n &o$r

view, what wo$l be the signi-icance o- ps&choanal&sis -or a revitali>e emancipator&

politics

AH: .t is a ver& complicate @$estion/ !irst, . wo$l not claim that =arxism as s$ch has

-aile, b$t that it has clearl& erre in one respect, namel& in its conviction that the proletariat

or the class o- the labor -orce will a$tomaticall& evelop a critical perspective/ An empirical

o$bt o- that premise ha alrea& been -orm$late b& the earl& !ran-$rt School/ heir

starting point, in a wa&, was hesitation as to precisel& that premise/

. thin Aorno an some o- the other representatives o- the !ran-$rt School relie mainl& on

ps&choanal&sis as a wa& to thin thro$gh the emancipator& mechanisms alrea& immanent in

capitalism/ .n certain passages Aorno s$ggests that a certain component o- o$r ps&chic li-e

simpl& resists the existent capitalist conitions beca$se o- the element o- s$--ering implicit in

these conitions/ However, i- &o$ -ollow !re$, s$--ering pro$ces certain ispositions, not

-or emancipation, b$t -or enlightening nowlege/ 6onetheless, Aorno, $ntil the en,

believe in that in o- ps&chic mechanism/ ith =arc$se it is completel& i--erent/ =arc$se

arg$e there are certain rives that permanentl& resist the capitalist -orm o- rationali>ation,which wo$l point to a completel& i--erent $sage o- ps&choanal&sis/ 5$t, regaring how .

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thin ps&choanal&sis might contrib$te to emancipation, . wo$l give several answers/ !irst, .

am most intereste in obect relations theor&, a certain strain within ps&choanal&sis/ .n brie-, .

thin this strain, an the wor o- ?onal innicott in partic$lar, is ver& help-$l in orer to

thin abo$t emancipator& moments in normal h$man li-e/ =ore generall&, one element .

wo$l tae -rom ps&choanal&sis is a eep s$spicion abo$t the completel& rational actor/

%s&choanal&sis is one traition among others that helps $s to see that h$man beings are riven

not onl& b& their p$rposive rational interests, b$t also b& their $nconscio$s wishes/ . tae this

insight to be necessar& -or an& anal&sis o- emancipator& potentialities within a given capitalist

societ&/

#S: .n a recent interview, &o$ anno$nce &o$r s$pport -or the .nstit$te -or Fomparative

.rrelevance 7.nstit$t -Ir ie Jergleichene .rrelevan>, or .v.9, $st be-ore the b$iling it has

occ$pie -or nearl& a ecae was sei>e/ .n a !ebr$ar& 2012 ispatch entitle, Fritical

hining 6ees an aes ime an Space, available on its website, the .v. writes that it

sees itsel- as o--ering an alternative -orm o- politics base aro$n a sel-Corgani>e space

within which it is possible -or participants o- an& age, gener, or ethnicit& to achievea$tonom&/G2 ?o &o$ thin this sort o- alternative political proect reali>es, or at least

approximates, the in o- m$t$al recognition an eCrei-&ing behavior that &o$ call -or in

&o$r wor Aorno arg$es in several places, most notabl& in his late essa& Resignation,

that attempts to resc$e enclaves o- immeiac& in the mist o- a thoro$ghl& meiate an

rigii-ie societ& amo$nt to pse$oCactivit&, obsc$ring the nee -or change on the level o-

societ&/G3 How wo$l &o$ respon to this criti@$e

AH: . wo$l hope that the notion o- m$t$al -orms o- recognition can help to mae a little bit

clearer what Aorno ha in min, act$all&/ Foncerning the .nstit$te -or Fomparative

.rrelevance, . thin one sho$l s$pport it, simpl& beca$se this is one expression o- the

interests o- st$ents to have alternative spaces -or their own wa& o- thining, within a nonCreg$late, nonChierarchical -orm o- $niversit& e$cation/ An . thin it is a goo sign -or a

generation o- st$ents i- the& evelop interest in creating s$ch spaces/ . o not thin that these

spaces represent another -orm o- li-e/ .n the .v.

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1/ Aorno, heoor, Re-lections on Flass heor&, in Fan One 4ive a-ter A$schwit> A

%hilosophical Reaer, e/ Rol- ieemann 7Stan-or, FA: Stan-or "niversit& %ress, 20039,

110/K

2/ he -$ll text o- Fritical hining 6ees an aes ime an Space 7Lritisches ?enen

bra$cht$n nimC mt sichCMeit $n Ra$m9 can be -o$n online at Nhttp:ivi/cop&riot/com$eberC2P/K

3/ Aorno, heoor, Resignation, in Fritical =oels: .nterventions an Fatchwors, trans/

Henr& / %ic-or 76ew 8or: Fol$mbia "niversit& %ress, 200'9, 2(1

http:plat&p$s1(1Q/org20130(01onCbecomingCthingsCanCinterviewCwithCaxelChonneth

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